Fake IPL Player Blogpost: Awards Night and Farewell

While the IPL closing ceremony is on, I am pleased to share with you an exciting piece of news. IPL's FIP Reader's Choice Awards will be given in a glittering function at the Buckingham Palace Lawns on 4th June. The Queen and the Prince have declined their presence because of prior engagements. However, the rest of the glitterati are expected to attend the event in full splendour.

True to his style Saala Slimeball has already ordered for a gold coloured Shamiana studded with all sorts of stones. The brief is to make something more hideous than the trophy itself, which will take some doing I tell you. The Shamiana vala is currently busy slapping all the sponsors' logos on gold sheets. All speeches at the event are sponsored by Sprite, which automatically disqualifies Slimeball from giving this customary Thank You speech. Kishen Kanhaiyya lost the job as soon as he said "I will be there like a tracer bullet". And Nanny Horrible-son was, at the time, trying out his latest stunt of lifting 4 cheerleaders on his shoulders and 2 on his lap, and couldn't muster up a good enough reply. The show will now be anchored by all Set Max anchors. Doesn't get straighter than this as they know all TVs would in any case be on Mute.

As readers of this blog, you have the privilege of knowing all the winners well in advance because, well, you guys have picked them anyway.

IPL FIP's READER'S CHOICE AWARDS

Pair pe kulhaadi Award:
Appam Chutiya for his marathon run after claiming wicket of Cool Dude and ruining own prospects in Indian team.
Contributed by Vimmmie

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Champ Chargers charge from bottom to top

What a tournament it was. After all the drama of 59 matches in 37 matches which included 3 hat-tricks, 2 centuries, plenty of controversies, Fake IPL player it was the bottom placed team of last year the Deccan Chargers that triumphed as the champions this year.

Gilchrist: It could have gone either way. Would like to acknowledge RCB on an outstanding series and to turn it around after the disappointments of last season is a real credit to them and their whole franchise. Pragyan Ojha did a wonderful job and two wickets in two balls that really starts to eat away at a team when they are chasing. In a final it is always a good position to have runs on the board. Harmeet took an amazing catch, amazingly he played in 7 games and we did not lose one of them. Maybe we should have played him in all 15 or 16. Would like to thank SA, and the sponsors. Also thank the owners, it was a tough year last year, but thanks for having faith on us. Also would like to say HI to everyone in Hyderabad, I know it is almost like a Diwali over there.

Anil Kumble: Congrats to Deccan Chargers, the way both teams finished last year and I would like to thank all my team members for their support. I think chasing 144 on this wicket was not a big task, but the wickets of Rahul, Rossco and Virat probably put the brakes on and then the run-rate shot up. Whenever the situation was tough I had to put my hand up and it worked well. I would like to thank everyone who has prayed and wished us back home. Also would like to thank Mallya and team for their support.

Rohit Sharma: Always South Africa has been lucky as we won the World cup so I was happy it was staged here. For the first few games the it was not easy to bat on, but as it progressed I really enjoyed my batting as it suits my style. I just kept it simple and backed myself.

Adam Gilchrist is named the Golden Player of the League.
RP Singh wins the Purple Cap for being the leading wicket taker in this season of the IPL. He picked up 23 wickets.
Orange Cap stays firmly on Matthew Hayden's head.
Rohit Sharma bags the Under-23 Success of the Tournament award.
Anil Kumble is the Man of the Match

Kumble heroics not enough as Deccan win IPL

Runs on the board proved the key, Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist said after his team beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in the Indian Premier League final at Wanderers Stadium Sunday.

Even though Deccan were restricted to 143 for six - mainly due to a superb bowling performance by Bangalore captain Anil Kumble - it was just enough as a slow pitch, a lack of substantial partnerships and the pressure of a final combined against Challengers, who could manage only 137 for nine.

"It could have gone either way," admitted Gilchrist, who was named player of the tournament.

Deccan finished last in the first IPL in India in 2008, with Bangalore second from the bottom.

"Bangalore felt the same disappointments last year as we felt," said Gilchrist. "To see them turn it around and to put up such a great final is a credit to their franchise."

Gilchrist said left-arm spinner Praghan Ojha, who took three for 28, did a "wonderful job" for Deccan.

"As they say, in finals to have runs on the board is always a good position to be in."

Kumble, named man of the match for taking four for 18, said he was proud of his team for winning five games in a row to reach the final.

"On this wicket, chasing 144 was not a big task."

He said the loss of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli off succcessive balls from Andrew Symonds, soon after the departure of batting mainstay Rahul Dravid, put the brakes on his team's challenge.

"In spite of that we were one hit away from victory."

Leg-spinner Kumble opened the bowling after sending Deccan in and dismissed danger man Gilchrist with his third ball.

Fresh from his match-winning innings of 85 off 35 balls against Delhi Daredevils in the semi-final on Friday, Gilchrist showed impatience after failing to score off the first two deliveries from Kumble.

He charged down the pitch to the third ball but failed to read a googly which went past his bat into the stumps.

Mission accomplished, Kumble took himself off, but came back into the attack in the ninth over and ended a promising innings by Symonds, who hit 33 off 21 balls.

Once again Kumble took himself off, with figures of two for five from two overs.

He returned to dismiss Rohit Sharma, who was named Indian under-23 player of the tournament, and Venugopal Rao.

But Herschelle Gibbs batted through the innings to make an unbeaten 53. Gibbs was unable to dominate the bowling and did not get enough of the strike, facing only 48 of the 120 balls of the innings. But his innings proved crucial. At the mid-innings break he had scored only 13 off 22 balls.

Bangalore made a cautious start but Roelof van der Merwe, sent in as a pinch hitter at number three, gave the innings impetus with a typical mixture of wild swings and solid hits.

He hit two sixes off Ryan Harris and another off Symonds before he was stumped off Ojha for 32 off 21 balls.

Despite the loss of Dravid, bowled by Harmeet Singh when he tried to flick the ball to leg, Bangalore looked to be cruising to victory until Taylor and Kohli fell off successive balls.

Taylor top-edged a pull to long leg and Kohli was superbly stumped down the leg side by Gilchrist.

Mark Boucher cut Harmeet Singh to South African team-mate Gibbs at backward point and suddenly Bangalore needed 37 off 25 balls with only three wickets left.

It proved too many.

Gilchrist: Inspiring Generations

by Goutham Chakravarthi

Bang! Four! Bang! Bang! Bang! Six! Six! Six! Delhi hardly knew what hit them; Gilchrist had swept them off their feet. It was like watching a golfer practise. Gilchrist just teed off and hit six after six, each longer and higher than the previous. We have seen him do it for well over a decade, but still each time he demolishes an opposition, and once more in a big game, you wonder how he does it.

Boycott once said that he played himself in on his walk to the middle from the pavilion. I don't think he bothers about gauging the opposition and the wicket, he just goes for it. Such belief in himself! He destroyed Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka in the '99, '03 and '07 world cup finals respectively. He has got to be among the greatest big-match players of his time.

He plays the Aussie way in the effect he goes after the opposition. If anything, he really targets the opposition's best bowler. Yet he became a walker in the latter part of his career. The Aussies believe in letting the umpires do their job and they never contemplate walking. The standing joke was that the Aussies never walked unless they were perhaps bowled. And that too, only if it was not a windy day!

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